(NewsNation) — In 1975, a woman’s body was found floating in Ontario, Canada’s Nation River. Almost five decades later, she has been identified as a prominent Tennessee businesswoman thanks to new, cutting-edge DNA techniques.
When Jewell “Lalla” Langford, who became to be known as the “Nation River Lady,” was first found, investigators used what technology they had at the time to take the fingerprints of the then-unidentified body. A forensic dentist was also called in.
“She had a very unique dental appliance, and that appliance was photographed and shared across all dentists through a dental publication to see if anybody recognize that,” Dr. Dirk Huyer, Ontario’s Chief Coroner, said.
Yet, nothing came from it.
An artist later made a 3D rendering, all to no avail. More rudimentary DNA analysis only led to dead ends.
In late 2019, though, a new DNA profile of the victim was taken by the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto, which submitted it to a specialized lab in the United States, Ontario Police said in a news release.
The samples were matched to two individuals listed in a family DNA tree through whole genome sequencing.
It was revealed the victim was Langford, a 48-year-old who traveled to Montreal in 1975. Langford’s family says they never heard from her again.
Now, her remains are back with them, and this expanded DNA technology is bringing new hope to law enforcement.
“Perhaps this will open the door to more of those types of cases, that up until recent years, we would have thought, ‘This is never going to be solved,'” Bill Dickson, acting manager of media relations for the Ontario Provincial Police, said.
For all these years, Langford’s family kept a gravestone with no body in it, and a headstone that simply said she was missing. Now, they’ve changed the inscription to say she’s “finally home and at peace.”
Police have now identified a suspect in Langford’s death, Rodney Nichols, 81. He is charged with murder. Nichols lives in Florida, and police hope he will be extradited back to Canada and stand trial.
